Star Wars: The Fett Family Legacy

Dark Horse's current lineup of Star Wars books cover various points in time in the Expanded Universe, but none feature the popular heroes and villains of the movies in starring roles. Star Wars fans who crave more of these iconic characters now have a new book to look forward to – Star Wars: Blood Ties. This mini-series stars both Jango and Boba Fett in a conflict that takes place both during the prequels and the original trilogy.

With the first issue hitting stores today, we figured now was the perfect time to chat with writer Tom Taylor about the series. Taylor hinted at the conflict connecting these two legendary bounty hunters and how the tone of Blood Ties compares to other current Star Wars projects.

IGN Comics: We're seeing a lot of the Clone Wars-era of the Star Wars galaxy thanks to the current animated series. Stylistically, how does this comic compare? Are you striving for something darker in tone or art style?

Tom Taylor: Stylistically, Chris Scalf brings an almost photo-realistic quality to this book. These characters look and feel like they did in the movies. I recently hung out with Daniel Logan (Boba Fett from Attack of the Clones and The Clone Wars) for a couple of weeks here in Australia. I showed him some of the pages where he appears, and he couldn't get over how amazing they looked. The detail and likenesses in Chris Scalf's incredible art meant Daniel also couldn't separate himself from the character on the page. He kept talking about what he was doing on each page, "Look at me! I'm fighting a dragon!!"

As for the tone, these are not really kids' tales. These happen in darker places with darker scenarios than The Clone Wars. Although there is definitely some humor, we're dealing with two men (in Jango and Boba) who aren't exactly known for their fluffy-teddy-like approachable personas. Chris Scalf's art is simply breathtaking and he's really capturing the human (sentient) drama in this book. He is also portraying the angst.

IGN Comics: Part of the reason Boba Fett and his father remain so popular is that they maintain an aura of mystery and danger. How do you go about maintaining those qualities while also exploring deeper into their characters and personal mindsets?

Taylor: These guys are dangerous, there's no doubt about it, but you wouldn't call either of them one-dimensional. There is a lot of absolute-good versus absolute-evil in the Star Wars universe and Jango and Boba are neither. They're not 'evil.' They're not cruel. They are cold, hard mercenaries and I'm not looking to change who they are or soften them in any way. What happens in Blood Ties, the event that triggers the story, it happens to the characters you know. Even mysterious, dangerous men can be rocked to the core.

IGN Comics: How would you describe the conflict of this story? What character or event manages to link Jango and Boba across the years?

Taylor: I don't want to give too much away but Jango is sent on a less-than-pleasant mission by Count Dooku. Being Jango, he takes his son along for the ride. There is a death. There is a surprise. There are repercussions.

IGN Comics: How much of the story will focus on Jango, and how much on Boba? Is it a roughly even split between the two?

Taylor: The first two books concentrate on the two of them and the second two on Boba… and another character. But Jango is ever-present in the books. It's his act that sparks the story. Cryptic enough for you?

IGN Comics: We're particularly interested in seeing Boba Fett's growth as a bounty hunter. How well established is Boba during the events of the comic. Has he honed his fearsome reputation by now, or is he still learning the ropes and trying to live up to his father's legacy?

Taylor: He is a boy at the start of Blood Ties but we do see some of his training and growth under Jango, one of the most highly-skilled and feared men in the galaxy. We also see another perspective of the moment that truly shaped him. By the time we see him as an adult he is the Boba we know.

IGN Comics: Both the Clone Wars era and the original trilogy era have plenty of popular bounty hunter characters. Will we see any guest appearances from the likes of Zam Wesell, Dengar, IG-88, or any of the other bounty hunting rivals?

Taylor: Good question… I don't want to spoil it.

IGN Comics: The recent "Vector" crossover featured a Sith weapon that impacted the protagonists of all four ongoing Star Wars books of the time. Did that crossover influence the development of Blood Ties and how you went about structuring the story?

Taylor: No. Although I did really like the series and I urge everyone out there to pick it up. No, the event that triggers this story and affects the future is nothing magical or Force related; it is very tragic and very human.